Tuesday was the first mention date for the charges. Mr. Murray said he had just received the papers that morning, so he asked for another mention on 17 June.

The charges were brought under section 25 of the Labour Law as revised in 2007. The law states: ‘An employer shall pay overtime pay to an employee for every hour of work in excess of the standard work week or a standard work day.’

Another section of the Labour Law provides that non-managerial employees may agree that no overtime will be paid, but such an agreement has to be registered with a Labour Tribunal.

There is also a provision for time off in lieu of overtime.

Overtime pay is generally considered to be one and a half times the basic hourly pay.

The standard work week is not to exceed 45 hours in a seven day period. The standard work day is not to exceed nine hours.